1. Field of the Invention
The disclosures herein generally relate to apparatuses connected through a network, and particularly relate to an image forming apparatus, an information processing method, and a system that can integrate information stored in the apparatuses.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus such as a copier, a printer, a scanner, a facsimile machine, or an MFP (i.e., multifunction peripheral) having multi-functionality may have address information and account information. The address information may include mail addresses and FAX numbers, for example. The account information includes user IDs and passwords used for logging into the apparatus, and also includes a list of function settings that are used when a logged-in user uses a certain function (e.g., copy function).
Since the address information and account information are stored in the image forming apparatus in advance, a user does not need to enter a FAX number of the recipient each time the user sends image data by use of a FAX function, for example, thereby allowing the user to skip some operation.
The provision of address information and account information in an image forming apparatus improves user convenience. When plural image forming apparatuses are installed in an office, there may be a need to store the same address information and account information in these image forming apparatuses. Maintenance work to manage the address information and account information stored in these image forming apparatuses may increase work load on users. In consideration of this, an LDAP (i.e., Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) server may be installed to allow the address information and account information to be utilized in an integrated manner by use of a key such as a user name.
However, the provision of such a server results in a cost increase. There are some studies made for the purpose of managing address information and account information without using a server (e.g., see Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-251897) and Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent No. 4211760)).
Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus that updates user-specific address information of an information processing apparatus stored in a memory device each time access is made based on the same user information. Patent Document 2 discloses an image forming apparatus that stores user information in a user information storage unit when user authentication is successfully performed with respect to a user requesting to use the image forming apparatus.
Image forming apparatuses disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are not designed to control and manage, in an integrated manner, address information and account information stored in plural image forming apparatuses.
Accordingly, it may be desirable to provide an image forming apparatus, an information generating method, and a system that can control and manage address information and account information stored in plural image forming apparatuses in an integrated manner.